There was not deployment to the Main (SLS) channel on Tuesday, June 21st.
On Wednesday, June 20th, the three RC channels should be updated with the same new server maintenance package, comprising minor internal changes and Tool Tip/Constant text fixes.
The RC update includes a fix for BUG-18251, and a further fix for the Bento attachment issue documented in BUG-10979, which doesn’t change Bento models or how avatars are rendered by the viewer.
SL Viewer
There have been no updates to the Lab’s viewers so far this week, leaving the list currently as:
Current Release version: 4.0.5.315117 (dated May 11), May 18 – formerly the Quick Graphics RC viewer
Release channel cohorts:
Maintenance RC viewer, 4.0.6.316614 dated June 16th
Inventory Message RC viewer, version 4.0.6.315555, dated May 23rd – removal of deprecated and unused UDP inventory messaging mechanisms from the viewer
Project viewers:
Project VLC Media Plugin viewer, version 4.0.6.316258, dated June 15th – replaces the QuickTime media plugin for the Windows viewer with one based on LibVLC
Visual Outfit Browser viewer, version 4.0.6.316123, dated June 6th – ability to preview images of outfits in the Appearance floater
Project Bento (avatar skeleton extensions), version 5.0.0.316366, dated June 10th – bug fixes
Oculus Rift project viewer, version 3.7.18.295296, dated on October 13, 2014 – Oculus Rift DK2 support
Obsolete platform viewer, version 3.7.28.300847 dated May 8, 2015 – provided for users on Windows XP and OS X versions below 10.7.
In terms of the Oculus Rift viewer, speaking at the SL13B Meet the Lindens event on Tuesday, June 21st, Ebbe Altberg indicated that he’s been invited to a demonstration of the updated viewer. This doesn’t necessarily mean the viewer will be updated in the Oculus project channel immediately, but it might be taken as a sign of the continuing progress with the viewer.
Other Items
Utility Server Maintenance
There will be further maintenance on a cluster of the Lab’s utility servers on Wednesday June 22nd, at 01:00 SLT. During this time:
Residents served by the cluster may be logged off of Second Life, and unable to relog until the maintenance is complete
Resident groups served by the cluster may be unable to send messages or initiate group chats during the maintenance.
Users are advised to monitor the Lab’s Grid Status Twitter feed at @SLGridStatus. This is reportedly the last phase of current Utility Server Maintenance work, with previous phases occurring on June 17th and June 21st. While it is only speculation on my part, I suspect this work might be in connection with the core database cluster issues experienced on Friday, June 10th.
CTRLALTStudio Withdraws from Third Party Viewer Directory
The Oculus Rift supporting CtrlAltStudio viewer has withdrawn from the Second Life Third-Party Viewer Directory following an announcement by its developer, Strachan OFarrel (aka David Rowe), in which he states that while the viewer remains available for download, it is no longer being maintained.
Many thanks to Dave for his work in developing CtrlAltStudio and for his ongoing work with High Fidelity.
On Tuesday, June 14th, the Main (SLS) channel received the same server maintenance project, as previously deployed to all three RC channels, comprising “minor internal changes”
There was no deployment to either the LeTigre or BlueSteel Release Candidate channels
After being in doubt (see part 1 of this report), the Magnum RC deployment did take place. This contained the same code as is currently on the RCs, other than some additional diagnostic code executed when some enters a region.
SL Viewer
The Maintenance RC viewer updated on Thursday, June 16th to version 4.0.6.316614, which includes two additional fixes:
MAINT-6446 Correct password length handling to match web sites
MAINT-6486 Recompile Scripts does not process beyond first object/prim.
The VLC Media plug-in project viewer updated to version 4.0.6.316258 on June 15th, which includes on additional fix:
MAINT-6488 [Win LibVLC] After using a drop down list on a web page, it remains stuck on-screen even when URL is changed.
All other viewers remain unchanged:
Current Release version: 4.0.5.315117 (dated May 11), May 18 – formerly the Quick Graphics RC viewer
Inventory Message RC viewer, version 4.0.6.315555, dated May 23rd – removal of deprecated and unused UDP inventory messaging mechanisms from the viewer
Project viewers:
Project Bento (avatar skeleton extensions), version 5.0.0.316366, dated June 10th
Visual Outfit Browser viewer, version 4.0.6.316123, dated June 6th – ability to preview images of outfits in the Appearance floater
Oculus Rift project viewer, version 3.7.18.295296, dated October 13, 2014 – Oculus Rift DK2 support
Obsolete platform viewer version 3.7.28.300847 dated May 8, 2015 – provided for users on Windows XP and OS X versions below 10.7.
Group Ban / Chat
A major annoyance among many groups is that when an irritant is banned / ejected from a group whilst already engaged in group chat, they can continue to engage in the chat session until they close the group chat session window / tab – see SVC-32. However, an upcoming change to the group chat services, currently undergoing testing on Aditi, will change this.
While subject to change prior to going live, the updates on Aditi worked so that:
If a person banned or ejected is in the same region as the person banning them, the banned individual sees a dialogue box displayed over their group chat:
Group chat warning following a group ban / ejection when in the same region as the person carrying out the banning / ejection
When they click on OK, the dialogue clears and the group chat closes. The group should also be removed from their group list, preventing them from re-joining the chat.
If the person being banned / ejected is in a different region to the person banning / ejecting them, there is no dialogue box displayed over their group chat. Instead, the chat window remains open, but any attempts to post chat messages result in the system message:
Message displayed when attempting to continue to use and open group chat after being banned / ejected from a group, when in a region different to that of the person banning you
The group will also remain in their group list until such time as they re-log. However, if they close the chat window and attempt to re-join it, they will receive the following message:
Message displayed on attempting to close / reopen the group chat after having been banned / ejected from a group
Currently, it appears as if this update will be included in a main grid Release Candidate update for week #25 (commencing Monday, June 20th).
Bento Fix
A fix for BUG10979 – “Scripted attachments attached to the new enhanced skeleton attachment points show as worn on ‘Invalid Attachment Point’ in the script limits floater” is available for testing on Aditi on the Fire Ant 1 region, if anyone wishes to try the fix. If all goes according to plan, it should also be on the main grid in a Release Candidate server maintenance package in week #25.
With thanks to Rex Cronon for the SBUG meeting chat tanscript.
On Tuesday, June 14th, the Main (SLS) channel received the same server maintenance project, as previously deployed to all three RC channels, comprising “minor internal changes”
It is likely there will be no planned deployment / restart for either the LeTigre or BlueSteel RCs.
There is a deployment listed for the Magnum RC, which quotes the same version number as last week’s deployment. When I asked Simon whether or not this indicated there would be a deployment, he replied:
I believe they won’t actually roll it. The two versions in RC were almost identical, except for one bit of code that executed when entering a region. We were comparing them for speed and are promoting the less laggy one. The slow code was kinda nice in that it gave us better diagnostics but wasn’t worth it.
Weekend Issues
On Friday, June 10th the main grid experienced a series of issues which appeared to be very similar to those which occurred at the start of May and were related to the central database node failure. I asked Simon if we would be seeing a further write-up from April Linden or another member of the ops team, prompting him to reply:
I’m not sure if April was going to write up another report. Last Friday’s outage was another main database failure. I know they’re looking to see if there is any noticeable cause we could address.
Should a post appear, it will most likely be via the Tools and Technology blog, and I’ll of course cover it through these pages.
SL Viewer
Friday May 10th saw two viewer updates:
The Maintenance RC viewer updated to version 4.0.6.316312
The Bento project viewer updated to version 5.0.0.316366, comprising a small set of bug fixes.
Otherwise, all viewers remain as per my last projects update:
Current Release version: 4.0.5.315117, dated May 11th, promoted May 18th, and formerly the Quick Graphics RC viewer
Inventory Message RC viewer, version 4.0.6.315555, dated May 23rd – removal of deprecated and unused UDP inventory messaging mechanisms from the viewer
The Visual Outfits Browser (VOB) project viewer, version 4.0.6.316123, dated June 6th. See my overview of the viewer for further details
VLC Media Plugin viewer, version 4.0.6.316087, dated June 3rd. Sees the Quicktime for Windows media plugin for the playback of media types such as MP3 MPEG-4 and MOV, replaced by one based on LibVLC (https://wiki.videolan.org/LibVLC/) Mac viewer currently unaffected.
Oculus Rift project viewer, version 3.7.18.295296, dated October 13, 2014 – Oculus Rift DK2 support
Obsolete Platform viewer, version 3.7.28.300847, dated May 8th, 2015 – provided for users on Windows XP and OS X versions below 10.7.
On Tuesday, June 7th, the Main (SLS) channel was updated with the same server maintenance package, comprising the addition of mnemonic names to be used in LSL scripts when attaching to the new attachment points on the Bento skeleton extensions and minor internal changes
On Wednesday, June 8th, all three RCs were updated with a new server maintenance package comprising “minor internal changes”.
SL Viewer
There have been no further changes on the viewer front since part 1 of this update, leaving the official viewer channels as follows:
Remaining Viewers
All other viewers currently remain unchanged from week #22:
Current Release version: 4.0.5.315117, dated May 11th, promoted May 18th, and formerly the Quick Graphics RC viewer
RC viewers:
Maintenance RC viewer, version 4.0.6.315924, dated June 2nd. Includes fixes for the recent release of the Avatar complexity / Graphics Presets viewer release
Inventory Message RC viewer, version 4.0.6.315555, dated May 23rd – removal of deprecated and unused UDP inventory messaging mechanisms from the viewer
Project viewers:
The Visual Outfits Browser (VOB) project viewer, version 4.0.6.316123, dated June 6th. See my overview of the viewer for further details
VLC Media Plugin viewer, version 4.0.6.316087, dated June 3rd. Sees the Quicktime for Windows media plugin for the playback of media types such as MP3 MPEG-4 and MOV, replaced by one based on LibVLC (https://wiki.videolan.org/LibVLC/) Mac viewer currently unaffected.
Project Bento (avatar skeleton extensions), version 5.0.0.315657, dated May 26th – includes the “reset Skeleton” option and additional slider updates
Oculus Rift project viewer, version 3.7.18.295296, dated October 13, 2014 – Oculus Rift DK2 support
Obsolete Platform viewer, version 3.7.28.300847, dated May 8th, 2015 – provided for users on Windows XP and OS X versions below 10.7.
Avatar Complexity
There are some issues with Avatar Complexity which have been noted, but have yet to be addressed, One is that a “dirty” install the viewer (i.e. not removing the previous version + its supporting files from a computer will default avatar complexity to No Limit (BUG-18199).
Another (BUG-18195) is that initial default values for Avatar Maximum Avatar Complexity (defined by the graphics benchmarking) are not applying. These should be: Low: 35k; Low-Mid: 100k; Mid: 200k; Mid-High: 250k; High: 300k and High-Ultra / Ultra: 350k. Instead, the bug means that all graphics settings above Low are defaulted to 80k. This also means the Rest button for Avatar Complexity reverts the setting to 80K for all settings, rather than applying the correct default.
On Tuesday, June 7th, the Main (SLS) channel was updated with the same server maintenance package, comprising the addition of mnemonic names to be used in LSL scripts when attaching to the new attachment points on the Bento skeleton extensions and minor internal changes
On Wednesday, June 8th, all three RCs should be updated with a new server maintenance package comprising “minor internal changes”.
SL Viewer
There have been a number of viewer updates and appearances in the various viewer channels.
Maintenance RC Viewer
The Maintenance RC viewer was updated to version 4.0.6.315924, on June 2nd. The update includes a series of additional fixes and a more descriptive set of release notes to describe the changes. In particular, there are a new series of fixes for the recent release of the Avatar complexity / Graphics Presets viewer release, comprising:
A fix for some cases of invisible avatars due to JellyDolls feature.
A fix for the Appearance update being broken due to COF version getting out of synch. It will now be … *nsync.
A change so that Invisiprims are now preloaded and will remain transparent, not grey or black.
The Maximum Complexity setting will be set to recommended setting on first run. A Default preset will be added based on recommended settings, but not applied, so your current graphics settings are unaffected.
A “Show original” menu item has been added to the Appearance/Wearing tab.
A fix for an unhandled error when deleting empty list of graphics presets.
For the full list of updates, please refer to the release notes.
VLC Media Plugin Project Viewer
Released on June 3rd, the VLC Media Plugin viewer, version 4.0.6.316087, sees the Quicktime for Windows media plugin for the playback of media types such as MP3 MPEG-4 and MOV, replaced by one based on LibVLC (https://wiki.videolan.org/LibVLC/).
Currently the Mac version of the viewer is unaffected, as Apple still support QuickTime on that platform. However, it will be updated to use LibVLC in the upcoming 64-bit versions of the official viewer.
Visual Outfits Browser Project Viewer
The Visual Outfits Browser (VOB) project viewer, version 4.0.6.316123 appeared on June 6th. Simply put, it allows you to use the Appearance floater to capture / upload / select images of your outfits and save them against the outfits in a new Outfit Gallery tab within the floater. See my overview of the viewer for further details.
Remaining Viewers
All other viewers currently remain unchanged from week #22:
Current Release version: 4.0.5.315117, dated May 11th, promoted May 18th, and formerly the Quick Graphics RC viewer
Inventory Message Viewer, version 4.0.6.315555, dated May 23rd – removal of deprecated and unused UDP inventory messaging mechanisms from the viewer
Project Bento (avatar skeleton extensions), version 5.0.0.315657, dated May 26th – includes the “reset Skeleton” option and additional slider updates
Oculus Rift project viewer, version 3.7.18.295296, dated October 13, 2014 – Oculus Rift DK2 support
Obsolete Platform viewer, version 3.7.28.300847, dated May 8th, 2015 – provided for users on Windows XP and OS X versions below 10.7.
There is an update in progress for the Oculus Rift viewer, but no time frame on when that might appear. Currently, both it and the Obsolete Platform viewer are TLS 1.2 compliant (see below), so it will be interesting to see what happens with them both over the coming few weeks.
TLS 1.2
Linden Lab has issued a further reminder that as from June 15th, all Second Life users must be using a viewer and / or web browser that supports TLS 1.2 in order to make use of the Second Life WEB cashier services for L$ transactions (e.g. to send, receive, or exchange L$).
Actively maintained web browsers and viewers (official and TPV) should support TLS 1.2. However, older versions of third-party viewers and those viewers which have not been updated in recently, may not support it. Users are therefore advised to visit https://www.howsmyssl.com/ with their browser and, if they are using an older version of a viewer, the viewer’s internal web browser, to check whether their browser / viewer supports TLS 1.2.
The Version notification in the top left of the How’s My SSL? web page will indicate whether your web browser and / or viewer (via its built-in web browser) is TLS 1.2 compliant.
As has been previously noted, this isn’t an arbitrary change on the part of the Lab. It is in response to an ongoing set of regulatory / compliance requirements (as explained by the PCI Security Standards Council) which are global in scope.
The following notes are taken from the TPV Developer (TPVD) meeting held on Friday, June 3rd, 2016. A video of the meeting is embedded at the end of this report, my thanks as always to North for supplying it. Time stamps in the text relate to this recording.
Server Deployments
As always, for the latest information, please refer to the server deployment thread.
On Tuesday, May 31st, the Main (SLS) channel was updated with the same server maintenance package previously deployed to all three RC channels, which included a server crash fix.
On Wednesday, June 1st, all the RC channels were updated with a new server maintenance package, comprising the addition of mnemonic names to be used in LSL scripts when attaching to the new attachment points on the Bento skeleton extensions and minor internal changes.
The next RC deployment, scheduled for Wednesday, June 8th will including further anti-griefing measures, one of which will be if you try to rez a group of coalesced objects which between them have more the 10,000 items within their contents, the rezzing will fail on regions on the RC channels once this update has been deployed.
SL Viewer
Release Candidates
[00:45] there are currently two RC viewers in the release channel:
Maintenance RC viewer, version 4.0.6.315551, dated May 23rd
Inventory Message RC viewer, version 4.0.6.315555, dated May 23rd – removal of deprecated and unused UDP inventory messaging mechanisms from the viewer
[01:05] The Lab is hoping that TPVs will be picking-up the changes on the Inventory Message RC viewer ASAP, as they are hoping to be able to deprecate and removed the back-end support for the old messaging mechanisms completely as well, so that all inventory operations will go via AIS (Advanced Inventory System).
This will provide the Lab with a single point of enforcement for things like which folders in inventory are mandatory and cannot be deleted; which folders cannot be moved inside other folders, etc), in order to help eliminate points of potential inventory issues users may experience.
There are concerns over remaining bugs within the AIS system.
[12:14-17:20] BUG-9506, for example, remains open, although a fix which may help in part with in, relating to how AIS operations are threaded in the viewer, in the current Maintenance RC release, together with fixes for both BUG-10391 and BUG-11929. However, it may be that to deal specifically with the likes of BUG-9506, further tests are to be carried out to see if it still occurs on in the Inventory Message RC viewer, and if so, it may be that it might be merged with the Maintenance RC to see if issues can be resolved that way. The Lab will also re-examine what fixes have been recently made and where they reside within the viewer development pipeline.
Oculus Rift Project Viewer
[05:54] The Lab is still working on the Oculus Rift project viewer, but there are still assorted bugs to be dealt with. The time frame for this project viewer, which will support the latest SDKs and the consumer version of the headset, appearing remains as “pretty soon”.
64-bit Viewer Versions
[24:00] Work on the 64-bit versions of the official viewer is still “on hold”.
QuickTime Replacement
[24:09] A version of the viewer without any QuickTime support may be appearing in the next couple of weeks. This is as a result of Apple deprecating QuickTime for Windows without offering patches for a couple of potentially serious vulnerabilities, leading to the recommendation that Windows users uninstall QuickTime. As a result of this, the Lab has decided to completely replace QuickTime across all flavours of viewer. When made available, it will likely be called the Project VLC viewer, as some of the media handling will be through libVLC
Project Bento
With the move of Bento to the main grid, Bento User Group meetings will now take place at the Hippotropolis Campfire Circle at 13:00 SLT on Thursdays. Unfortunately, I was unable to make the meeting on Thursday, June 2nd, so there is no dedicated report in this blog for this week.
The male and female avatar skeletons have also been updated to support the most recent changes to Bento, and can be downloaded from the Bento Testing wiki page.
Work is continuing on bugs and issues, such as BUG-11538 (“Front legs crossing on Bento Mesh quad(animal) avatars”), and while new appearance shape sliders have been considered out-of-scope for the current iteration of Bento, issues have been raised with scaling limb sizes when trying to produce avatar add-on, rather than full avatars, which may in fact be in part solved through the use of a set of generic sliders. Further discussion on these ideas will likely come through the Bento forum thread, and potentially at the in-world meetings.
[05:15] Regardless of thoughts on slider sets and overall project scope, Bento will be progressing at its own pace, rather than trying to meet any specific deadline. There are a number of known issues still to be addressed, and it is anticipated that further issues are likely to be reported now Bento is available for more widespread testing.
Other Items
TLS 1.2
18:25] As per a blog post from the Lab, which I also reported here, users are being advised to update (if necessary) their web browser and their SL viewer to a version that supports TLS 1.2 by June 15th, 2016. After that date, any web browser or viewer that does not should TLS 1.2 will no longer be able to access Second Life cashier services to send, receive, or exchange L$.
The change is apart of the Lab’s efforts to improve its compliance needs for handling money, but some confusion has remained over exactly what will be affected in terms of L$ transactions, which still persists around matters of in-world purchases. The confusion prompted Oz Linden to comment during this meeting:
I believe that it will affect being able to purchase items in-world and to send and receive Linden dollars to other avatars, because it’s all interactions with the cashier.
So again, if you are using an older version of the viewer, it is essential you check to ensure it is TLS 1.2 complaint before June 15th.
To do this, use the viewer’s built-in web browser to visit How’s My SSL? and check the Version information displayed in the top left of the page. You may also wish to check your web browser as well, if you are using an older version of a browser and wish to ensure you can continue to make SL Marketplace transactions, etc. However, do be aware that some ad blockers can prevent the TLS 1.2 checks performing correctly.
In order to further confirm what may “break” as a result of this change, it has been suggested the Lab enable some form of testing on Aditi. This will be looked into.
“Feature Surprise”
[6:35] A further hint of an upcoming “feature surprise” was given at the meeting. I’m assuming this is actually the Visual Outfits Browser, designed to provide a means by which users can store and browse images associated with their outfits in inventory, simplifying the act of identifying an outfit prior to wearing it.
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 